MILLERSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Now 17 firefighters for the Millersville Fire Department walked off the job Tuesday afternoon after the newly appointed city manager terminated fire chief Brandon Head.
Head told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that only one firefighter now remains with the department.
Head was called into city manager Tina Tobin’s office and handed a separation letter saying the city was going in a different direction with their fire department.
This comes just weeks after Tobin fired former Millersville Police Chief Rob Richman after a month on the job.
Head and Richman both said they weren’t given much explanation for why they were terminated other than their services no longer aligned with the city’s vision for the future.
Tobin has been at the center of several terminations in the past several weeks. Millersville mayor Tommy Long told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that almost all the decisions regarding city staff terminations were left up to Tobin. Although Tobin was appointed with no prior experience as a city manager anywhere else.
Tobin replaced former city manager Scott Avery in a heated commissioners meeting that saw Avery terminated within minutes of newly-elected commissioner Alisa Huling claiming her seat.
“I’ve done nothing but try to better that place since I’ve been there and honestly I’m heartbroken. I really am,” Head said.
Head has been a firefighter with the Millersville Fire Department since 2006, and he said he’s frustrated to hear his commitment to the city was ever in question. He said he was even interrogated at one point by new Millersville police chief Bryan Morris at the request of Tobin to know if Head would be loyal to their cause.
“As far as you questioning my loyalties, I’m loyal to the city. I’m loyal to my firemen. That’s where my loyalties are at. I asked for a reason and they just said they were going in a different direction,” Head said.
The Millersville Fire Department is made up of pay-per-call volunteers, part-timers and only a handful of full-time firefighters. Most work full-time in other departments across Middle Tennessee.
Head said his colleagues all decided to walk off with no intentions of returning.
The city of Millersville has a mutual aid agreement with Goodlettsville and White House Fire Departments, so Head says there will still be fire and rescue services for Millersville.
As for response times, Head says a wait is inevitable if departments have to drive in-between cities to reach your home.
Head says he was the one that helped establish the mutual aid agreement to begin with on the off chance that one department was in need of more trucks.
“It’s literally been a coin toss the last few weeks when you come in and find if you have a job or not. I told my guys that we’re still here on week one, but our city is in a bad situation right now with fire protection. Calls are going to get answered, it just maybe by another department,” Head said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates has reached out to city manager Tina Tobin through city attorney Bryant Kroll and are waiting on a response.
This is a developing story.
